Rev. Jesse Jackson expected to return home soon after hospitalization, family says

Thursday, December 11, 2025
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson is expected to return home soon.

That's the latest update from his family.



He has been at an acute nursing facility since being discharged from Northwestern Memorial Hospital last month.

Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2013, his family says. In April, the diagnosis changed to progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurological disorder.



Jackson gained national attention in the 1960s as Martin Luther King Jr.'s protégé. Jackson spent more than 60 years advocating for racial equality and economic justice. He ran for U.S. president in 1984 and 1988.

He helped to found the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition, an organization dedicated to social justice. He spent nearly three decades leading Rainbow PUSH before stepping down in 2023.

He is 84 years old.
Copyright © 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.